Since the first of the year our IRAs have lost almost 15%! We are meeting our financial advisor next Tuesday, what do we do? Invest in US I bonds, which is paying good interest due to inflation? Put the $$ in our mattress? Invest in Ivermectin?
We are both 66, should be no penalties if we take money out. Currently our pensions and SSI cover our bills, and a comfortable lifestyle. But we don't want to keep losing money. Thanks for your input, be it thoughtful or silly.
I’m a Marxist. I hate everything about the stock market sham. Don’t ask me anything. I will never be part of the system, I will forever be the part that gets abused by the people at the top. It’s how I roll. But at least I fully understand that and just eschew the whole “join them” part. I cannot stand mutual funds and the robbery it’s done to retirement systems and how it’s chained everything to the market lies. Try to divest in absolute horror shows and, nope, not gonna happen. The whole thing is smoke, mirrors, and lies. I have an old school ethical mind in a very unethical world. I only value land and water rights. I will add that the oligarchy is snapping up those things. Just FYI where they see the future going. Sigh.
Don't panic sell. Investments are meant to be long term; if you sell low (as in now) then you typically lose more than if you just wait it out. Waiting it out is frustrating and might take a while for a rebound to happen, but that's just kind of how it works. I would check with the advisor to make sure your investments are good quality. Sometimes adjustments have to be made over time to make the investments more conservative, but usually that would be a process.
Look at it as a buying opportunity. It always comes back, eventually bigger than before, and if it doesn’t we’re all screwed anyway. This is the chance to invest at a discount. The ones who panic are the saps in the long term.
i have a former friend who is an idiot and a gold bug. Actually a silver bug. He buys worn out old coins and squirrels them away, and has done that for years. He says that our money will be worthless. He has been saying that for 40;years, and that I am a fool for having my money invested, and having a financial advisor.
We are now about your age. He has nothing but some bags of worn out silver coins. (He always would grin with that condescending smile when he told me it was called “melt”). I am doing pretty well. He does have a house, but his mother gave it to him.
I was very nervous during the Trump years that there would be another financial meltdown, ala 2008, where in I watched my IRAs and 401K shrivel, and vowed, despite advice from people who know better to never watch it passively again.
There were 2 significant slides during those 4 years, and on each, when I finally decided I'd lost enough, I'm selling, virtually within a week or 2 of my sell the market turned right around. Even the Covid slide, which I thought was going to cause a global long term meltdown, inexplicably reversed course after a 4 or 5 week slide. I was so confused there I took shelter in tax free munis for 6 months expecting further mayhem. Boy was I wrong.
Since I invest soley in mutuals I couldn't buy right back into the same positions so in each sale I wound up having the same investments, just fewer shares. Since investment earnings are about half of my retirement income and I'm just barely eking out a living, any loss of shares and EPS hurts, significantly.
It has hurt this time, watching my portfolio value shrink, but I'm not selling. I have a bit of dry powder to invest when I sense we've hit bottom, but I think I've finally learned my lesson regarding market timing.
If I do decide to sell, I'll post it here so you all know it's time to buy! 😂